Almost Human
by Fear's Blade
Summary: In the distant future, a battle suit called Infinite Stratos (IS) has been developed, a mech suit capable of leveling an entire military complex. The only drawback: they can only be piloted by women, they don't respond to male pilots. However, at the world's only IS Academy located in Japan, a boy emerges claiming he can pilot an IS. Is this boy lying? Why not find out with a duel?
1. Prologue

Where am I..? Who am I..? Why can't I see anything..? Everything is white… I can't hear anything… Am I dead? Wait… I… I hear something. It sounds like… like voices. I don't know what they're saying, it's all muffled, but it sounds like two men…

"Date mark... 2025... 11-417-JW activated… Update the log."

"Right away, sir." The voices are becoming clearer. One voice sounds very elderly, the other sounds very deep… deep and regal.

"Adjustment levels set." The elderly voice says.

"Good, initiate second phase." I can now see darker blobs among all of the white. The images are becoming crisper and crisper until I can make out two figures above me. The elderly voice is coming from an old man dressed in grey scrubs. Very little silver hair left atop his head, this man is well into his 90s. Tired green eyes hiding behind a pair of simple prescription glasses, hands ridden with arthritis, definite frown wrinkles, he seems to be a very troubled man.

The other man, dressed in a well tailored suit with silver rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, seems to be the source of the regal voice. His brown hair is cleanly slicked back and his stoic expression is giving away absolutely nothing.

The elderly man in scrubs places his right hand next to my ear and snaps his fingers, then does the same to the other ear. After doing so, he looks up at a few monitors.

"His hearing seems to be well, and according to the readings, the optic adjustments are within the desired parameters," the elderly man says as he points to a part of one of the monitors.

"Good. Are his nerve readings stable?" the well dressed man asks. In response, the elderly man pinches me on my arms and legs. After this, he lightly taps the same places, all while looking at the monitors.

"Yes. His pain receptors are sending the desired signal," the elderly man says as he takes off his gloves. "He checks out. All systems are operational."

"Excellent. Inform Squad 6 of our success." The man looks down at me with a small smile. "They'll like their new toy." The elderly man looks at the other with a look of worry.

"But sir, we should take precautions for-"

"My decision is final. Do it." The man in the suit commands. The elderly doctor looks down at me hesitantly, then back up to the man in the suit and bows his head in defeat.

"Yes sir."


	2. A New Student

_Tap, tap, tap_. Cecilia Alcott, the representative contender of the United Kingdom, repeatedly tapped her fingernail on the desk. The sun shone brightly on the IS Academy this particular day, but in the eyes of Cecilia, it was any other boring day. However, for some strange reason, Chifuyu Orimura, Mondo Grosso Champion and teacher of Class One, was not present today. Only the assistant teacher, Maya Yamada. Cecilia simply continued to tap her nail on the desk as Miss Yamada continued to introduce the class to today's lesson.

"As you all know, the Infinite Stratos, or IS for short, is a mechanical battle suit that can only be piloted by females. The IS was originally intended for space exploration, but those plans were put on hold. Today, they are solely used for competitions sponsored and approved by government parties. As for military use, any use of IS in a military organization of any sort is prohibited by law of the Alaska Treaty…" Yamada continued to drone on as Cecilia became more and more bored, resting her head on the table.

Out of nowhere, Yamada looked at the door, pausing mid-sentence. Most of the class looked as well and started murmuring and whispering in surprise. Noticing this, Cecilia lifted her head from the desk. In the doorway stood Miss Orimura. Cecilia didn't understand why everybody was so thrown off, but then she looked who was standing next to her. It was a boy, a tall boy with pure white hair and lustrous crimson eyes, dressed in a grey long coat with a simple red t-shirt and black jeans underneath. The long coat reached his ankles, and on his feet were a pair of worn out sneakers.

"Miss Orimura..? Who is this… uh… _gentleman_?" Yamada asked, saying the word _gentleman_ in a questionable tone.

"This is Jaden Snow," she gestured towards the boy. "He is an IS pilot. He will be transferring into this class as a student."

The entire class went silent. No one even made a sound… for about five seconds. The entire class erupted into uncontrollable laughter, even Cecilia couldn't hold her tongue. A few girls fell over in their chairs, laughing too hard to stay upright. Others had their heads on their desks, pounding their fists on the surface and laughing hysterically. Cecilia stood up out of her chair, barely able to control her laughter.

"Is this a joke, or are you just daft?" she said whilst pointing at the boy. "Even the dullest of fellows know that only women can pilot an IS! Are you sure you are in the right school?" Cecilia asked. The class laughed at her comment. Cecilia placed her hands on her hip in triumph and shook her head at the boy, whose stoic expression didn't even falter. Orimura slammed her hand on her desk.

"Back in your seats!" she commanded. Everybody went dead silent and sat down. Those that fell over got back into their seats, and the humor that filled the air was immediately replaced with a very serious atmosphere.

"Miss Alcott-"

"It's fine," the boy interrupted. His voice was low and silvery, smooth like a cello. The entire class's attention turned onto him, every single pair of eyes on the boy. "As she said, my name is Jaden Snow, and I will be joining this class as of today, to take place among the ranks of IS pilots. I am sixteen years old, and have lived in Tsukuba for most of my life." Jaden folded his arms.

"Now I am aware that most, if not all of you do not believe I can pilot an IS," he said calmly. Jaden looked at Orimura, as if to signal her, then looked at Cecilia, causing her to shift in her seat. Orimura stepped forward, square with the class and spoke loud and clear.

"To settle the situation, a demonstration will be held in Arena 3 in fifteen minutes. Miss Alcott, grab your NES suit and head for Hangar 3-A. Mister Snow, Hangar 3-C. Everybody else, spectate the fight." Orimura announced. For a second, everybody stayed still, unsure if she was serious or not. Orimura made that clear. "Now!"

Everybody, except Cecilia, got out of their seats and walked out of the door, whispering things like, "Is this a joke?" or "They can't be serious." Cecilia however, stood behind her desk.

"Why am I in the demonstration?" Cecilia asked, quite confused.

"Why else?" Orimura replied. "You're going to fight him in front of the entire student body."

"What!?" Cecilia exclaimed, baffled and unsure.

"Yes, you are going to fight him," Orimura said, obviously annoyed. "Now hurry up, you're wasting time."

"But-"

"Go!" Orimura ordered. Cecilia hesitantly exited the room and began walking through the crowd of students to the Arena. About twenty feet ahead of her, Jaden was walking to the Arena as well. Cecilia pushed her way through the sea of students and caught up with Jaden. He noticed this and acknowledged her with a nod of the head. Cecilia whipped her head away from him with a 'hmph!'

"Consider yourself lucky," she said. "Very few lowlifes like you get to see me in battle, much less be in battle with me. But if you have any common sense, then you will forfeit this match. I, Cecilia Alcott, am the representative contender of the United Kingdom. Even if you _were_ able to pilot an IS, you would have no chance of winning."

"You will soon discover why your words are inaccurate to the reality of the situation." Jaden replied without shifting his expression. "I will see you on the battlegrounds." Without another word, Jaden walked forward and disappeared into the crowd. Cecilia was taken aback, considering how much taller he was than any of the girls in the hallway. It should be nearly impossible for him to blend into the crowd like that. _Nearly_.

Cecilia arrived at the arena and made her way to Hangar 3-A, Jaden's words still ringing in her head. Why would her words be inaccurate? Why does he seem so emotionless? Why is he here at all? There's no way he can pilot an IS…

Right?


	3. A First Encounter

**Chapter 3: Whispers From The Enemy**

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**AN: Hey Guys, sorry for the long wait. I have no excuses. In the following months, I will attempt to chip away at this story. Please leave an honest review of what you think about the story and in what direction you think I should take it in. I also have an account of FictionPress, so check that out too. Anyways... on to the heated battle about to happen**

_P.S. Text in this font are thoughts_

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In the changing room near Hangar 3, Cecilia Alcott had just finished changing into the Neurotransmitter Enhancing Suit, or NES for short. The suit looked very much like a school swimsuit with matching stockings. The NES's purpose is to lengthen the nervous system's connection into the suit to allow direct signals from the brain to the suit and vice versa. Cecilia's suit in specific, was a deep blue color with a lighter blue trim on the edges and hugger her body tightly. In her opinion, it looked very refined, or at least as refined as a school swimming suit gets.

After looking in the mirror and making sure the suit was on properly (and admiring her own curvaceous body), Cecilia checked the clock to see that she was well on time and was satisfied to see that she still had 5 minutes before the match begun. Walking toward the door to Hangar 3, her mind lingered over to her opponent and what his fighting style most likely was.

_By the looks of him, he will probably choose an IS with a blade of some sort. He's too stupid to know what he's fighting against. I'll keep my distance and engage him with my drones if he gets too close. _Cecilia nodded to herself in confidence and walked out to the hangar. It was an enormous room with a long continuous tunnel ,too wide to calculate, leading to the arena. A launch pad sat near the door Cecilia just came out of. This pad was meant to launch the user and their IS out onto the battlefield. Cecilia stopped walking and reached up to her earring. It was a blue tear-shaped jewel that hung down just a little bit. She flicked the earring and it began to glow, until the light became quite blinding.

When the light died down, Cecilia was now in control of her devastating personal IS, Blue Tears. The magnificent mech matched Cecilia's NES perfectly. The IS was a deep blue with a few parts colored black. 6 long and slim drones with the same colors as the suit formed up behind the mech suit, taking on the appearance of wings. Mechanical extensions formed around her arms and legs and secured Cecilia tightly in the center of the machinery. After the IS took form around her, Cecilia walked to the launch pad and stood on it. She bent her knees and leaned forward as the pad catapulted her out into the arena.

She flew up a good distance to get a good readout on the battle field. When she looked around, she didn't see any other IS, so her opponent was still preparing himself. Cecilia smirked to herself.

_He's obviously nervous. He's going up against me, why wouldn't he be? _Not a single moment later, Cecilia looked down to the hangar adjacent to hers and saw a figure. When the suits optics enhanced, she nearly blew up the hangar right there and then. Standing there, in a grey long coat, without an IS, was her opponent, Jaden Snow. Cecilia was able to calm herself for a few seconds before the rage bursted out.

"WHAT are you doing! You told me you wouldn't WASTE MY TIME!" At that moment, she launched two rockets out of her IS straight towards Jaden. Those rockets have enough power to completely eradicate a heavily armored tank, and he didn't even move. Suddenly, Cecilia noticed pixels forming into a communicator around Jaden's ear. The rockets were just about there, then she heard him talk in his usual unperturbed voice.

"I won't"

Then the rockets collided with the ground right in front of Jaden, creating a huge smoke cloud where Jaden once stood. Most of the audience gasped, but some screamed. She didn't see any movement aside from the ever-rising smoke. At this point, Cecilia started to worry. _Did I go too far? Why did I shoot at him when he obviously didn't have an IS? What have I done!? _Soon enough, the smoke cleared, but when it did, there wasn't anything there. There was no evidence that Jaden Snow was there when the blast happened. Then she noticed something: not far from the area of effect was something of Jaden's, his grey long coat.

Suddenly, Cecilia heard somebody talking through her communicator in a monotonic voice.

"Target: Cecilia Alcott. IS:Blue Tears, a long range IS focused on firepower and agility. State of mind: compromised." Cecilia turned around to find the source of the voice.

Behind her, about 20 meters away from her, was Jaden Snow. He didn't have a training IS on, he had his own personal IS. It was jet black with a red embellishments all around it and slim thrusters that looked much like Cecilia's drones formed wings on his back. The angles on his IS were sudden, giving it a very sharp appearance. _He has a personal IS!? How come I didn't know about this!? _Cecilia panicked and summoned her rifle, Starlight , aimed it at him, and fired. The shot broke the silence with a loud crack, traveling towards Jaden at stunning speeds, and Jaden simply moved his head to the side as the shot whizzed past his head. The entire arena went silent. Cecilia floated there, stunned at how little effort was used to dodge the round. In response to the shot, Jaden spoke again.

"Target Engaged"

Hearing those words sent shivers down Cecilia's spine as an enormous metal sword summoned itself in Jaden's right hand. The blade itself was the length of his entire IS, and it had a faint, red glow to it. The sun reflected off of it in such a way that gave a demonic feeling to it. This made Cecilia squeal, and she soared away to a comfortable distance and aimed down her rifle. Strangely, he hadn't moved a single inch. _What is he planning? What do I do? _She shook her head and tightened her grip on the rifle, resolving her delay, screaming to herself in her head. _SHOOT! SHOOT! _Several shots flew through the air directly towards Jaden's weak spots. When they reached him, he flew down under the shots. Every single shot missed him.

He still didn't move any closer. _What is he planning!? He completely dodged all of my shots, but he isn't taking the chance to get closer! _Cecilia deployed four of her drones and focused on attacking him from multiple angles. _He'll definitely have a harder time evading my drones._ As the drones got closer, Jaden's sword seemed to glow brighter. Without warning, Jaden dashed forward towards the closest drone and sliced the extremely slim drone in half. The next two were immediately sushi-chopped and destroyed. The last drone headed straight for Jaden, playing chicken with him. Jaden leaned forward and charged straight towards the lone drone, pulling his sword in front of him and driving it right through the unfortunate piece of equipment.

Jaden stood there without a scratch on him as scrap pieces of blue and black metal fell to the ground far below. Jaden had gotten a little closer, but he still hasn't charged towards Cecilia, who was frozen in shock. _How is that even possible!? Those drones were designed to be impossible to even touch! _Cecilia pulled up her rifle and fired a shot heading for the spot between Jaden's eyes, but he simply pulled up his sword and placed it at a slanted angle. When the round hit the sword, it ricochet right off. When the round was out of sight, Jaden just stayed there. Cecilia couldn't pull the trigger because she knew that it was hopeless. It was then that Jaden spoke, flawlessly without any sign of exhaustion or loss of breath.

"Evaluation Complete"

Cecilia literally wanted to scream her lungs out at that point. _The entire match was JUST AN EVALUATION!? WAS HE EVEN TRYING!? _It was then that Jaden charged her, and when he did, he meant it. Cecilia's eyes widened and she flew off, engaging her suit's hyper-sensor package and taking to the skies. At this point, she was flying at over 500 kilometers an hour. She was sure that she lost him, but when she looked back down, he was right behind her. Cecilia screamed in anger and launched two heat seeking missiles right at Jaden. When they were just about to hit him, he dodged to the side and slashed at the missiles as they passed. The sword came into contact with the missiles, causing an explosion and creating a giant shockwave that blasted Cecilia into an uncontrollable spin.

When she stopped spinning, she looked down at the giant smoke cloud beneath her. She couldn't see a thing, so she enhanced the image and changed it into an infrared reading. Cecilia could feel her lungs up in her throat. _WHERE IS HE!? WHERE'D HE GO!?_ When she turned off her infrared, she spotted a moving shadow on the cloud beneath her, and she could tell it wasn't hers because she wasn't moving. She felt like her lungs were going to pop out of her chest when she looked up.

Coming down on her at 1,000 kilometers an hour with a huge sword was Jaden. She didn't even attempt to move. She didn't even have time to think about it. Jaden swung the sword, slamming it directly on her head, sending her as a meteorite towards the arena ground. If it weren't for the energy shields and the absolute defense, she would be falling to the ground thousands of meters below in two halves. When she collided with the ground, she made a crater several meters wide, but no one could see it because of the huge dust cloud the impact had created.

Cecilia was in a daze and she felt like she had just been hit by a semi truck at bone-crushing speeds. When she fully regained her senses, the dust cloud had been blown away. Standing above her, in his dark and mysterious IS, was the red-eyed boy she had thought to be incompetent and incapable, Jaden Snow. When Cecilia looked at her energy levels, she nearly choked on her own stupefaction. From that one attack, he had wasted her shields to the point where only a single energy point remained. Jaden simply tapped her IS with his sword and Cecilia's IS, Blue Tears, erupted into glowing pixels, returning to her ear and shifting to standby mode.

Jaden returned his own IS to the bracer on his right arm and walked over to Cecilia, who was still lying in the crater, stunned. When he stood right next to Cecilia, she prepared herself for the humiliation that she would have to endure from her crushing defeat. But when he walked over to her, she didn't expect him to pick her up bridal style and carry her towards the arena exit. Then he spoke in a lively tone.

"Cecilia Alcott, your performance was rather impressive. Although decisions weren't extremely efficient in their situations, your show of control and expertise with your IS exceeded my expectations. Your marksmanship with the Starlight was incredibly accurate, your draw was very quick, and you showed that your skills do not suffer from loss of composition in live matches." Cecilia was stunned, but she was smart enough to turn her head away from Jaden to hide the blush growing on her face. _Even though I acted cold to him, he complements me on our match!? I didn't even land a single hit on him! _The crowd burst with excitement and surprise. Before her and Jaden exited the arena, Cecilia looked back to the arena to see the result board.

WINNER: JADEN SNOW

ENERGY REMAINING: 598

RUNNER-UP: CECILIA ALCOTT

ENERGY REMAINING: 0


	4. A Conflicted Heart

**Hey guys, Fear's Blade here. Sorry for the long wait. On the holidays, I become quite busy. Anyways, today I have another chapter for you. Leave a review and tell me what you think. I am open for suggestions and criticism. Don't worry, I don't care about flaming. If it helps, then I'll accept it.**

_P.S. 'Text in this format is thought'_

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The infirmary was quiet today. Perhaps it was because only one person lay on a bed there. That person was Cecilia Alcott. The battle she had just fought, well it was more like a useless struggle for her, was all she could think about. It only happened a few hours ago, but she had a feeling the memory would never leave her mind. She would _never_ forget the unforgivable image of the scoreboard in her head:

_WINNER: JADEN SNOW_

_ENERGY REMAINING: 598_

_RUNNER-UP: CECILIA ALCOTT_

_ENERGY REMAINING: 0_

_'How had he only used up two energy points in that entire thing? I know I didn't hit him a single time, but even the rockets barely did anything!' _Cecilia sighed and closed her eyes. _'Who is he? Jaden Snow... the boy of white and red... who is he? Will those red eyes of his reveal anything? Who is he, and WHAT is he?' _The door of the infirmary opened and closed, followed by the sound of a single pair of footsteps. The steps were rhythmic and composed, those of somebody with a purpose. Cecilia opened her eyes to see who the nurse was, but there was no nurse. Standing there instead was the impossible boy that crowded her thoughts and invaded her mind. Jaden Snow walked up to Cecilia Alcott's bed and knelt down to Cecilia's eye level.

"How are you? Are you doing okay, Miss Alcott?" Jaden snow stood there in the grey long coat he had on before the first shots were fired in the battle. He stood there without a single scratch on him, looking more like a divine being than a student. His white hair covered his right eye, although the intensity of his left eye alone was enough to bring armies to their knees. Cecilia stared in awe, unaware that she had started to drool. Before it got too bad, she caught herself and turned away from him.

"I-I-I'm fine..." Cecilia spoke with a tone she thought she'd never use before: vulnerable. Cecilia shook her head and brought her hand up to slap some sense into herself. She swung her hand to her cheek, just to find it stop only a few millimeters from her cheek. She looked at that hand of hers to find another hand lightly grasping it. Cecilia held her breath. _'__Jaden stopped it? Just what it he?' _Jaden cleared his throat and turned Cecilia to look her in the eye.

"Cecilia, are you okay?" This time, Jaden spoke the question more like a command. Her heart felt like it had just gone flat in her chest, and her chest was way too tight. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Cecilia wanted to say that she was fine, but she couldn't bring herself to it. For some reason, she felt that she literally had no ability to lie. This man was more influential than Orimura sensei. Cecilia finally found her voice, although in a whisper, and spoke.

"I... I... I..." What does she tell him? That he causes her to lose sanity?

"I... I'm not, but you don't have to worry about it. It's an emotional thing." At the mention of emotions, Jaden's expression seemed to alter in some way, but Cecilia couldn't put her finger on it. Jaden gently released Cecilia's hand and stood up. He straightened his jacket and talked in his same calm and composed tone.

"I am sorry. I cannot help you then. If there's anything else you need though, feel free to ask me." Cecilia couldn't stop blushing after he said that, so she turned away from him and replied.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you some things regarding our duel." Jaden sat down in a chair next to the bed and listened. Cecilia still felt the blush, so she asked him while still facing away.

"Was that your personal IS? I didn't know you had one." Jaden took a moment to collect his thoughts, then spoke to Cecilia.

"Yes, that is my personal IS. It is Daku Nekketsu, or in English, Dark Blooded. I had received it when I found the ability to pilot an IS. I have had it for quite some time now. It is a close range IS, equipped with Sourufuria, a 12 foot longsword." Cecilia waited for him to say more, but he has seemed to finish his thoughts.

"That's it? It is only equipped with a sword? Nothing else?" Jaden nodded his head.

"Correct. It leaves room for maneuverability and speed." Cecilia connected the realization in her head. _'So because he only has a sword, his IS becomes a more agile machine. That must be how he was able to evade so easily, but it still requires the pilot's personal speed if there isn't a mental enhancer slot package. Since he only uses a sword he can't have any other IS compensation packages. Is he THAT good?' _Jaden spoke to Cecilia while she was still thinking.

"I have learned to work with only a sword. True I don't have any mental enhancers, but I'd rather prefer being able to move around freely. It also limits the energy use so that I can conserve the shield energy" Cecilia froze. _'What the hell!? Can he read minds or something!?' _Jaden chuckled and looked to Cecilia, who was still facing away.

"Any other questions?" Cecilia finally decided to turn towards Jaden. She was conflicting in her head if she should swallow her pride and ask him to train her, or if she shouldn't.

Jaden stood up, preparing to leave the room. Before he left, he looked at Cecilia in the eyes and said one last thing before he left the infirmary.

"If you'd like, I could offer you sessions after school to help you improve your piloting skills. I'll give you time to think about it." Cecilia sat there in bed, with wide eyes and a chest that felt like it was going to burst. Jaden turned back around after walking through the doorway and waved to Cecilia.

"It was great to meet you, Miss Cecilia Alcott. I hope you and I can be great friends." And with that fresh in Cecilia's mind, the door closed. Cecilia curled into an upright ball, pondering on the things Jaden told her. Her face was still quite red and her chest still felt too tight for comfort. Her mind was in turmoil, and she didn't know what to do.

_'It was great to meet you, Miss Cecilia Alcott. I hope you and I can be great friends.' _Cecilia held her hand to her heart.

"Who are you, Jaden Snow?"


	5. Sleeping Arrangements

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter of The Man of No Tears. Sorry for the wait, new semester is hitting me hard. Anyways, keep up with the reviews. The only reason I do this is because of you guys. The ones who read my stories and tell me what I should fix and what I should keep are the ones that keep me doing this. Tell me what you think and where to go with the story next.**

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After the battle between Cecilia Alcott and Jaden Snow, classes were dismissed for the rest of the day. Students were free to roam the island or just chill in the dorms. Houki Shinonono, instead of checking out the island or studying, decided to go to her kendo activities, then shower in her room. For some reason, she didn't have a roommate even though she was so far in the year, so she lived in room 1025 by herself..

It was 7:45 in the evening, and Houki had just finished showering after her club activities. As she dried herself off, she looked back on the battle between her classmates. She had seen Cecilia pilot her IS with precise maneuvers, but seeing her out there was like seeing a complete novice in her place. The new transfer student simply swept her aside like she was nothing.

She walked out of the shower room, pondering on the abilities of the new student when she hear a knock at the door. Nobody ever comes to her room, so she was clueless as to who it could be. Curious, she walked to the door and turned the knob. When the door opened, the last person she expected to be standing there was the new transfer student, Jaden Snow. He held a bag in his right hand, and was dressed in the school uniform, wearing a grey long coat over it. Houki was shocked to say the least, although Jaden simply looked down and then back up, and sighed.

"I will wait until you are clothed." Houki was confused for a second, until she looked down and realized she had nothing but a towel on. Blushing profusely, Houki slammed the door shut and walked over to her closet. She didn't have much; her closet consisted of her school uniform, her kendo outfit, a casual dress, a pair of jeans, and a few shirts and tank tops. Still blushing, she picked out her school uniform and dressed quickly. While she did, she pondered on why the boy that just transferred in several hours ago was waiting outside of her room.

'Why is he here to talk to me? I know I'm in his class, but he didn't even glance in my direction when he was in the classroom. Does he want to get to know his classmates? Probably not. There are way too many students in that class for him to take time out every day to get to know them, with homework and all.' Houki was stumped as to why Jaden would want to talk to her. After she put on her uniform and tied her hair with a green ribbon, she walked back to the door and opened it again to find Jaden leaning on the adjacent wall with his arms folded, waiting patiently. Houki sighed and looked at Jaden.

"Did you need something?" Jaden pushed himself off of the wall and stood up straight. Pulling a neatly folded piece of paper out of an inside pocket on his coat, Jaden unfolded the paper. He handed the slip to Houki and pointed towards the bottom of the it.. The piece of paper was a student information slip, and Jaden was pointing towards the student dorm number. He sighed, then spoke.

"Room 1025. I was hoping that they would put me in a room by myself, but they didn't. This kind of surprised me. After all, putting two adolescent people of opposite genders in the same bedroom isn't the best of ideas." Houki blushed at the thought and walked back in to the room, not bothering to look at Jaden. The room was a very comfortable size, consisting of two single sized beds, a large desk, and a kitchen. The far wall was actually a glass door that went out onto a little balcony overlooking the island. Houki motioned for Jaden to enter.

"Fine, but if you are going to be staying in the same room as me, then we need to set some ground rules." Jaden picked up his bag, stepped into the room and closed the door. Houki was about to continue on, but she realized the situation. She was in a closed room, with a boy who could do something no one else could and defeated a representative contender with absolutely no effort. Her eyes widened and her body went into panic mode. She started to freak out and flipped around to face Jaden. When she turned to face him, he had barely moved from the door. He was still standing by it patiently, listening and paying attention to Houki with his bag at his feet.

Houki was very frightened and confused. He didn't have any emotion on his face, so she couldn't tell if he was intrigued, confused, scared, happy, disgusted, or anything. He gave away absolutely nothing. This only made Houki even more frantic. She was as distraught as a wounded animal. Houki took a step back, trying to find her kendo bag which had her bokken sticking out. _If I can get to my bokken, then I can defend myself. _Jaden leaned on the wall.

"Ground rules won't be necessary. I won't be in this room often." Houki froze. Jaden sighed.

"You need to calm down, Miss Shinonono. Your pulse is far above its comfortable rate." Houki snapped. She grabbed the handle of her bokken that was sticking out of her bag and rushed towards Jaden. As she swung the wooden sword down towards Jaden, she moved all of her weight into the swing. Jaden sidestepped the attack as the bokken slammed into the ground. He set his foot down on the blade of the bokken. The wooden sword fell out of Houki's hands and slammed flat onto the floor. Jaden lunged towards Houki's backside and looped his right arm under Houki's right arm. He brought his left hand around the left side of Houki's head and linked both of his hands together, putting Houki in a headlock.

Houki's breathing ceased. She didn't know what to do. For a few seconds, she just stood there in a head lock. It wasn't a tight head lock, just tight enough to get a message across. Jaden let go of her and stepped back.

"Your attack was quick and precise, but be careful not to put all of your weight into a swing that isn't a sure fire hit." Houki stood there, confused as ever. She was still scared, but not nearly as much as before. Jaden walked to the bed farthest from the balcony and sat down.

"I know that you practice kendo. It's obvious looking at your technique and form. Even though you do, I don't recommend trying to hit your new roommate using it. You obviously meant harm, and that kind of strike would have most likely lead to a severe concussion." Houki looked down in shame, pondering on her choices to freak out for no reason. Jaden chuckled.

"Don't worry about it. Just remember that I'm not a threat to you." Houki picked up the bokken and placed it back in her kendo bag.

"Anyways, we _do_ need ground rules. You have to agree to that." Jaden simply nodded his head. No complaint, no problem.

"Fair enough. What did you have in mind?" Houki paused for a second, slightly caught off guard by his lack of stubbornness. After that second, she continued talking.

"I use the shower from 7 to 8 pm. You can shower from 8 to 9 pm. Clean up any mess you make and keep things clean. I don't want to live in a pig sty." After she said this, Jaden chuckled. Houki looked at him, seemingly offended.

"I'm kind of disappointed that you felt the need to mention that. I won't make any kind of mess, I can promise you that." Houki huffed out of frustration and walked to her bed. She was worn out from today, and would very much enjoy a good night's sleep. She pulled down the covers and started to crawl in, then looked down at what she was wearing. It was then that she realized that she was still in her school uniform. Houki sighed and turned to Jaden, who had grabbed his bag and set it by his bed.

"Hey, look away. I need to get dressed." Jaden laid down on the bed, facing away from Houki. She frowned.

"Don't peek." Still looking away, Jaden replied back.

"I'm not a perverted imbecile. Don't treat me as one." Houki huffed and quickly got dressed. She felt very uncomfortable undressing when there was a guy right there. She slipped off the school uniform and put on her kendo uniform. Strangely, she slept in her kendo dress, but she didn't care. It was comfortable. After putting on her uniform, she faced Jaden, who was still facing away from her. Houki frowned.

"You didn't peek, did you?" Still facing away, Jaden spoke.

"No. I didn't." Houki slipped into the covers of her comfortable bed.

"I'm done now." She looked over at Jaden to find him sitting up on his bed. Houki looked at him, quite confused. Then she realized that he was writing in a notebook in his lap. She walked over to him to see what he was writing, but before she could, Jaden had flipped the page and started writing on it. He seemed to be writing down a daily schedule, so Houki ignored it and crawled back into her bed. She wanted to sleep, but the light and the scribbling of Jaden's pencil was keeping her awake. She turned in her bed to face Jaden.

"Hey Jaden, can you finish that tomorrow? It's hard to fall asleep while the light is still on." Jaden stopped writing and looked at Houki. After a second, Jaden closed the notebook and reached for his bag.

"Of course. I think it'd be best if I went to sleep as well." Jaden put away his notebook and his pencil. Afterwards, he took off his long coat and hung it on a hook by the door. He turned off the lights and crawled into his bed. Houki studied her new roommate.

Looking back on what happened in the last few instances, Jaden was a new person all together. He was unlike anybody she had ever seen. He seemed so composed and decided, unlike anybody else she knew. He completely hid his emotions and his body language. Jaden turned to face Houki, that's when Houki saw it. For some reason, she had never noticed his eyes. But now, she payed full attention to them. Red. That was one thing, but she also notice something else that was completely inhuman. His eyes were slitted, like a cat's. Houki held her breath. Jaden spoke low and quiet.

"Sleep well, Miss Shinonono." Houki turned away, contemplating on what she saw.

The slitted eyes of a dangerous entity.


	6. Another Student

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. School kept me busy. This summer, I'm going to be updating and loading new chapters constantly. Please read and review. I am open for suggestions. I write these stories because you guys read it. Thanks for the support guys!**

_'Text in this format are character thoughts'_

* * *

The next morning, the school was abuzz with news of another transfer student. Jaden was walking to class in his long coat and could pick out the individual conversations. One group in specific held interesting information.

"The new student is transferring in to class two."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I heard that she's Chinese. Some of the girls said that she's a really good pilot."

"Cool!" The girls continued chatting. Jaden continued walking. He reached the door to class one and walked through the door to see Cecilia talking to a group of girls. Jaden was glad that she was okay. He knew that it was just a match, but he might have hit her a little hard. She was acting strange in the infirmary. Fortunately, the injuries were minor and quick to heal, and Jaden was glad for that. Cecilia noticed Jaden walk in and waved to him. Jaden waved back as Cecilia walked over.

"Good morning, Darling," Cecilia hummed. "Did you sleep well?" Jaden paused for a second, confused about the sudden kindness considering that she was so hostile when he first showed up. And where did _darling_ come from?

"I slept well enough," Jaden replied. Jaden walked over to his desk and set his bag down. Cecilia looked at the bag with curiosity, perplexed.

"Why do you bring a bag to class? Don't the desks have everything?" Cecilia asked. Jaden sat down and pulled out a notebook with a pencil in the spiral binding.

"My thoughts are clearer on paper. I remember things better when I write it down, not type it." Jaden then looked up at Cecilia.

"So did you consider my offer?" He asked. Cecilia paused for a second and put her hand to her chin, then met Jaden at eye level, smiling.

"I think I might take you up on that offer." At that moment, Houki walked into the classroom and heard the last part of Jaden's and Cecilia's conversation. Houki looked at the two with a shocked expression. '_Since when did they get so comfortable with each other? I swear that she was at Jaden's neck just yesterday,' _Houki thought to herself. Houki was going to go find out what the hell happened that completely did a 180 on Cecilia's and Jaden's attitudes towards each other when she heard a group talking about the new transfer student.

"Do you think she'll be serious competition in the school tournament?" Another girl shook her head.

"No. The only classes with personal IS units are this class and class four, so I think we're good." Suddenly, another voice broke in, loud and childish.

"That information is outdated! The representative for Class 2 now has a personal IS as well, so it's _not_ gonna be as easy to win anymore!" The majority of the class looked over to the doorway to see a petite girl with light brown hair tied in twintails. She had a smile on her face, exposing a fang, and green eyes with a confident shine in them.

"I am Lingyin Huang, the transfer student and new representative of class two, and I'm here to meet my opponent!" At her words, everybody seemed to pause. The classroom went silent. The sound of a chair being pushed back could be heard as the class seemed to shift their attention to the far side of the room. Getting out of his chair and walking over to Lingyin was a boy of white and red, Jaden Snow. Lingyin's smile faded slowly as she looked up at the boy, intimidated. She was only 4' 10", which was a difference of more than a foot compared to Jaden. He held out his hand.

"Welcome to the IS Academy, Lingyin Huang. I am the class one representative, Jaden Snow," Jaden said while holding his hand out. Lingyin just stood there, shocked. She hadn't gotten the news yet that one specific man could pilot an IS, much less pilot one well enough to become a representative. Lingyin looked over to the nearest girl, a look of confusion still evident on her face.

"He's joking right?" The girl looked back at her and shook her head. She looked back at Jaden and shook his hand with uncertainty. She looked up at his face, to see red eyes looking down at her curiously. When she looked at his face closer, her eyes widened. Jaden looked at her with confusion and let go of her hand.

"Is something wrong, Lingyin?" Lingyin shook her head after regaining her composure.

"Just call me Rin." Jaden nodded his head.

"Okay," he said. Rin smiled once again.

"Anyways, I hope you're prepared-" Rin was interrupted by a whack on the head.

"Oww," Rin exclaimed, holding her head in pain. "Hey, what was that for!?" Rin turned around to face whoever hit her on the head, only to find Orimura-sensei.

"Consider that your class bell, Miss Huang. Now get to class." Orimura walked past Rin, who was stuttering.

"O-okay. Sorry," Rin pointed at Jaden. "This isn't over." On that note, Rin walked back and class started.

**_oOo_**

**Out in the Arena**

After a lecture in the classroom, class one began practical training out in the arena. The students had changed into their individual NES's and organized themselves into neat rows and columns. Yamada-sensei and Orimura-sensei were up front, facing towards all of the students.

"For today's lesson," Orimura started, "we're going to be practicing the basic maneuvers of the IS. Snow, Alcott, you're up first." Cecilia smiled.

"Not a problem." Cecilia closed her eyes and concentrated on activating her IS. The earring on her left ear glowed brightly, and after it died down, she was once again in her familiar Blue Tears. She looked over to her left and saw Jaden in his black and red IS. The slim and sharp appearance of it still sent chills down her spine. Orimura looked at the two, pleased with their activation speed.

"Good, now fly!" Cecilia flew straight up, Jaden right beside her. He looked at her and flew ahead, eventually flying horizontally. Cecilia followed right behind him. She was still confused about how Jaden's IS was so quick and agile, easily surpassing Cecilia's IS. She was falling behind. Jaden noticed this and flew next to her.

"Now you see," Jaden pointed to his IS unit, "why I don't use enhancer packages."

Both of their communicators buzzed as Orimura's voice came through.

"Alcott, Snow. Execute a power dive then come to a complete stop."

"Right," Cecilia responded. She looked over to Jaden, who began to speak.

"Alright, Cecilia. Ready?" Cecilia nodded her head in response. Jaden looked back down.

"Then let's do this." Simultaneously, the two altered their angle and launched themselves straight down. Wind rushed past them as they accelerated, the ground coming closer and closer. They kept going faster and faster. Cecilia started to worry; they were going pretty fast for a power dive. Cecilia eased up a little bit on the dive, but Jaden kept on going. Cecilia looked at Jaden with worry. He was going way too fast to come to a complete stop now. She waited for the inevitable crash, but against her belief, Jaden came to a complete stop a few inches off the ground. Soon after, Cecilia caught up with Jaden and landed next to him. Cecilia looked at Jaden with a look of bewilderment.

"How in the world did you execute a power dive at that speed? If anyone else were to do that, they'd create a crater like our first battle." Jaden disengaged the thrusters, landing on the ground.

"Precise calculation and action," Jaden replied. Cecilia frowned. _'Seriously, how many surprises does this boy have?'_

Orimura looked at the two pilots, interested about how one battle can change a person's attitude so quickly.

"Okay class," Orimura said as Jaden and Cecilia deactivated their IS suits. "Split up into three groups and await further orders." Orimura walked over to Jaden and Cecilia. Jaden noticed her and turned to listen. Orimura folded her hands.

"Look Snow, I don't want you encouraging the other students to make risky moves like that." Jaden nodded his head in response and Orimura walked away to check on the other students. After that, the class continued with the practical training and the class went by smoothly.

After practical training, the rest of the day went normally, aside from the fact that the tournament match opponents have been decided and posted around the school.

**_oOo_**

**The Next Day**

Jaden and Houki were in their room the next morning getting ready for the tournament.

"I still can't believe the first match is you against that new transfer student," Houki said with curiosity apparent in her voice. Jaden put his NES in his bag. His NES was custom made like a wetsuit by the school and worked like every other suit in the school. It was a solid black with a dark red trim and a second layer on the torso.

"It's a possibility the school did that on purpose," Jaden replied, picking up his bag and heading towards the door. Houki called out to Jaden.

"Wait." Jaden stopped and turned. Houki spoke, perplexed.

"Do you have any idea why that new student looked so surprised when you shook hands with her?" Jaden shrugged.

"It could've been that she was surprised that I was a guy. That's what's likely, but it could be something else," Jaden turned and opened the door.

"I don't think it was that," Houki replied. "If it was, then that was a really late reaction." Jaden turned and waved to Houki.

"Anyways, I'm off for the match. I'll see you later." Houki waved Jaden goodbye.

"I'll catch up with you. Good luck," Houki said as Jaden closed the door.

**_oOo_**

**2 Minutes Before the Match**

**Rin's Point of View**

It was two minutes before the match started and I had gotten into my NES. It was just a pink version of the original suit, but I liked it. After exiting the changing room and entering the hangar, I deployed Shenlong, my personal IS. I was proud of it; it was a very effective IS, equipped with twin scimitars and shock cannons. It's a CQC IS, but it's a good one at that. It's black and dark scarlet color gave the third generation IS a slim look.

I stepped onto the runway and launched off into the arena. After I entered the arena airspace, I flew up a little bit. At the same time, another IS launched opposite of me. It was Jaden. I was still taken aback by the fact the a man could actually pilot an IS. I had heard from a few students that he's actually really good and that he literally pounded the British Representative Contender into the ground in their match. I'd have to be careful dealing with him. I yelled out to Jaden.

"So you really _can_ pilot an IS." Jaden right hand glowed as a longsword the length of two men grew in it. The sword was traced with what looked like circuit tracks glowing a deep red.

"If I couldn't, I wouldn't be here," he replied. Taking a closer look at his IS, it was very different from what mine was. His IS was black with dark red accents, symmetric and intimidating . It had the appearance of a sleek and stealthy bird of prey, poised for the kill. I didn't look like he had anything else other than that sword, but I couldn't know just yet. Before the match started, my operator had said that he had a 12 foot longsword, but she didn't know if he had anything else. I was brought out of my thoughts as the match announcer's voice came on.

"Attention contestants. You may commence the match at this time." I knew how to catch him off guard. Pulling out one of my scimitars, I charged him head on. As I closed the gap between us, I swung the scimitar in an uppercut motion. As predicted, he dodged to the side. Twisting my IS towards him, I fired a strong blast from my shock cannon. There was no way he could dodge a shock wave _this_ big. The invisible blast launched towards him.

Suddenly, he spun around and slashed across the wave diagonally, somehow directing the force away from him. I gasped, unsure if I had just witnessed what I thought I witnessed. I charged him again, except this time, I opened with multiple shots from the shock cannon while closing in on him. He weaved in between each one and back away. He was getting on my nerves right now.

"Stay still so I can hit you!" I said while swinging my scimitar in a fruitless attempt to drain his shields. Jaden looked at me while he dodged my attacks.

"Then what would be the point of this?" In response to his witty riposte, I growled.

"Okay, you're REALLY getting on my nerves!" Again and again, I attempted to hit him. Switching up my attacks, I pulled out the second scimitar and binded the two together, making it into more of a bladed staff type of fighting style. He still blocked and dodged flawlessly as if he was toying with me. To regain my composure and sense of time and space, I ceased my attacks and backed off. Strangely, he wasn't engaging. Taking the opportunity while I could, I thought of new attack patterns.

I sighed, out of ideas. I powered up my cannons for another powerful blast, preparing myself. I was ready to charge in again.

Suddenly, an object flew through the arena shield and hit the ground below me, exploding in a cloud of dust. The entire arena shook to its foundations. I covered my face as chunks of dirt flew in every direction. I looked at the giant cloud of dust in the middle of the arena slowly rising, too shocked to realize that Jaden had flown over to me, spectating the point of impact.

"Do you know what happened?" Jaden said, making me jump.

"Jeez! Don't scare me like that!" A screen popped up in front of both me and Jaden; it was Yamada.

"Snow, Huang! Evacuate the area! An unknown object penetrated the outer barrier and the school is on lockdown!" I turned to Jaden.

"You heard her," I started, "get out of h-"

"No." He interrupted. Jaden had a dead serious look on his face. He looked over to me, more serious than I had ever seen.

"This is my fight," he said, raising his sword towards the base of the smoke cloud. "It isn't here for you." _'It?__' _I looked at him with bewilderment as he continued.

"It's here for me."


	7. Trapped

**Hey guys. Sorry about the last chapter. I looked back on it and realized how rushed it felt. I'll keep updating and working on new chapters. Remember, I'd love to hear what you guys want to see in the chapters to come. Thanks for reading my stories and enjoy.**

* * *

**_oOo_**

**Arena 3**

**Rin's POV**

"It's here for me." Jaden said as his sword glowed an ominous crimson. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"What are you talking-"

"Rin, evacuate with the others," Jaden interrupted. " This thing's going to be out for blood." I just looked as he spoke. I was still confused as hell. What was he talking about? _It's _here for him? _This thing's _going to be out for blood? I was going to as more questions but Jaden forcefully pulled me away as a powerful energy blast ripped through where I was flying just a second ago. Jaden circled around the dust cloud with me in tow. I was looking down on the arena ground when I noticed how Jaden was carrying me: bridal style.

"Hey!" I said, blushing. "Put me down!" I pushed against his face in an attempt to free myself, but he wouldn't let go.

"Would you rather get blown to pieces?" Jaden questioned me. He continued flying as multiple beams blasted just inches away from us, and Jaden was flying _much _faster than I ever could. Yet the beams were still right behind him. Suddenly, one lucky shot ripped a hole through my thrusters. I cursed under my breath and looked around for a possible escape, but everything was on a level four lockdown. That means that nothing goes in or out.

"Jaden," I pointed towards a closed off hangar. "Do you think we can blast through that?" I questioned. "If we can, then we can get out of here and let the school security handle this." Jaden just looked at me disappointingly.

"Those walls are several meters thick, we'll never get the chance with that thing shooting at us, _and_," Jaden lightly bonked me on my head. "It'll endanger everybody on this island if we give it access to the rest of the school. I am _not_ going to put everybody in this school at risk because I wanted to run away." Jaden stared at me with eyes that could burn a hole through solid steel. "That is _weakness_." Suddenly, a powerful beam of purple energy came flying towards us, and it was going to hit me. Jaden couldn't maneuver fast enough to get out of the way, so instead, he shifted, putting himself in front of the laser.

The beam of energy hit him square in the back, sending a powerful shock wave through him and shattering his ribs. Jaden screamed in pain as the circuitry in his thrusters fried themselves, leaving us freefalling towards the ground. The ground came closer at an alarming rate. Once again, Jaden angled himself in between me and the ground. We hit the ground with the force of an entire freight train, creating an enormous crater in the arena ground. I was completely disoriented, and opening my eyes didn't do any better with the huge amount of dust kicked up. Soon enough, the dust cloud dissapated and I could see again.

I looked down to see Jaden, unconscious on the ground. Somehow, my IS was still fine, but his IS was completely devastated. His entire right arm gaunlet was gone and there were bits and pieces of metal missing from his chest pieces. His face was covered in blood and dirt, his hair was now dyed red with blood and a huge gash ran across his chest. Inside the gash, I could see the shattered ribs and the severed muscles. I had to do everything I could to keep from screaming bloody murder.

I looked over to my left to see whatever was in the middle of the arena. The dust had settled, so now I could see what was there. I didn't expect to see what I saw. _It _was an IS with extended arms and a full head helmet. The front of the mask had five glowing, red eyes. The IS was mainly black, but traced with yellow. Looking at the arm extensions, I could see why the energy bursts were so strong. The arm extensions were incredibly bulky and looked like bear arms compared to the rest of the body.

I heard a pained groan beneath me and looked down to see that Jaden had regained consciousness. He was holding his head with closed eyes. I looked over to the other IS, worried that it could strike at any time.

"Jaden, get up!" I shook his shoulders. "Get up!" Jaden moved his hands and opened his eyes. I looked at his eyes and completely stopped breathing. His eyes were no longer red anymore. Jaden's eyes had become pitch black orbs. He looked up at me, moved his right arm to my chestplate, and simply swept me aside like a piece of tin foil... WITH NOTHING BUT HIS ARM!? I launched a few feet away from him and landed on my back.

I picked myself up and looked back to see him standing up. That's when I noticed that the red in his hair wasn't blood. The color of his hair had changed from silver to dark crimson. It felt like everything in my chest just... stopped. That wasn't Jaden. That wasn't even human.

That was a demon.

"Rin," I heard him call. "Run... now."

Without warning, the black and yellow IS aimed its cannons at Jaden and fired. Jaden dodged to the left and dashed forward using whatever energy was left in his IS. The black and yellow IS aimed its cannons back on him, but his suit disappeared in a flash of white light. When the light faded, there was no one there. I looked around, but I couldn't find him. I looked at the enemy IS, who was confused as well.

Suddenly, Jaden popped out from behind the IS and rammed it head on. The IS fell to the ground with Jaden on top of it. Jaden grabbed the right arm extension of the suit and severed it from the rest of the suit, then proceeded to do the same to the left arm. From my point of view, it was terrifying to see what looked like a normal human tear apart a giant, metal suit like an animal. Jaden cried out as he ripped away the arms. The black and yellow IS attempted to kick Jaden off of it, but to no avail. Jaden jumped straight up, then plummeted right towards the IS operator's face.

I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I braced myself for a bloody sight as Jaden slammed his foot into the head of the IS operator, but there was no blood. Instead, I heard the crunch of metal hardware and saw sparks fly everywhere out of the suit. The IS jerked and spasmed for a few seconds, then layed completely still. The entire world seemed to go silent as chaos died with the IS. Jaden still stood above the suit with his foot on the head, breathing heavily. He looked up at me, and I swear I could see something in his eyes.

Suddenly, the red in his hair started to fade back to silver and his eyes returned back to normal. The gash in his chest continued to bleed as he fell to his knees.

"Jaden!" I yelled. I returned my IS to standby mode and ran over to the limp body of Jaden. I kneeled by him and checked for a pulse. Fortunately, there was still a strong pulse present. I looked around and saw the lockdown cancel out as the giant walls of steel lifted away.

A minute later, multiple teachers and nurses made it over to me and Jaden. They put him up on a gurney and rushed him to the school infirmary. A few teachers came over to me to make sure I wasn't seriously hurt. Fortunately, I only suffered minor injuries thanks to Jaden. I looked back over to Jaden as he was rushed out of the arena.

Now... Now I remember... What I saw in his eyes... I saw something... no... _someone..._

I saw Ichika.


End file.
